I Never Let You Go (I Never 3)

“Yeah?” I can hear him rustling around on the other end.

“Congrats on getting married. I’m so happy for you two.”

“Thanks, sis. We’ll talk more when we get back.”

“Sounds good. Bye.”

“Bye.” He hangs up, and I drop the phone but remember how he said that Finn now lives here.

I spin around to face Kate, who is approaching holding out my favorite mug filled with coffee. Kate got it for me during my first year teaching. It’s a white mug with purple writing that says “Tears of my students” with teal teardrops around it. She thought it was a hilarious gift.

My sister cocks her head to the side as I accept the coffee but stare out at nothing.

“Everything okay?” she asks, and honestly, I’m not sure how to answer her.

“Yeah.” I bring the mug to my lips and take a sip. “It’s just something that Kyler said on the phone just now.”

Kate takes a sip and leans back against the retaining wall.

“He said that Finn now lives here—that he moved back.” Kate avoids my gaze. “Did you know?”

She looks down at the ground before looking back at me. She nods her head. “Last night, I was talking with Mom, and she mentioned it. I planned to tell you; I swear I did, but then when I walked in here and saw you a hot mess with dried mascara down your cheeks, and the memory box of you and Finn on the table…” She raises her eyebrows at me. “Yeah, I saw that on the table. I knew you would never be able to throw it away. I don’t know why you thought you could lie and actually think that I would believe you. You’re a terrible liar, Lauren.”

I wipe under my eyes, and she laughs. We then settle back against the wall, sipping on our coffee.

She is the first to break the silence. “So, how do you feel about that?”

I turn to face her. “About what?”

“About Finn now living here.”

My shoulders slump, and I exhale. Kate has already called me out on my bullshit, so there’s no point in lying to her now. “You know, I don’t know.”

Why didn’t he say something to me? Not that I gave him the chance to. Fuck, why did I run away like that? I owe him more than that. I owe us more than that. I begin to wonder how Finn actually feels about being back. He never wanted to take over his father’s company even though they were in similar fields. That wasn’t his dream. We talked about it all the time. But then again, being single still at thirty-two wasn’t my dream either. I guess life works out differently for u

s all.

My sister makes a funny noise, and I come out of my thoughts and take in her appearance for the first time this morning. Her hair is a mess, and she is still in her dress from yesterday.

“Wait, why are you still in your bridesmaid’s dress? That wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain attractive redheaded groomsman, would it?” I narrow my eyes at her, and she smirks devilishly.

“Hey, the man may be annoying as hell, but he sure knows what the fuck he’s doing in bed. I’m going to go take a quick shower and raid your closet, and then wanna watch some movies?”

I am still in shock at my sister’s confession. “Yeah, sure.”

She nods and leans over, kissing my cheek before disappearing into the house. I take another sip of coffee and then rest the mug against my chin while allowing my thoughts to take over.

Finn is back.

Finn misses me.

Finn wants more than one dance.

Finn lied…again.

It’s that last thought that forces me to push down any other emotion besides sadness over the other three thoughts.

A throat clearing pulls my attention from the computer screen. I look up to find my sister, Kelsey, leaning against the doorframe with two cups of coffee in her hand.